Free The Dragon and the Pearl by Jeannie Lin

only hope to bring honour to our name today.’
    As he expected, the corners of the Emperor’s eyes creased in a rare moment of good humour before battle. The ruling classes were slaves to lofty ideals of honour and glory. He could spout empty words and lure them like gulls.
    Li Tao wasn’t even his true name.
    ‘May you wield your blade with honour today.’
    The Emperor spoke the blessing and reached over to grip Li Tao’s shoulder. His fingers tightened briefly. With a nod, the Emperor continued down the line.
    Li Tao followed the view of the Emperor’s back until the sovereign disappeared in a sea of leather and steel. An ill-fated twinge settled in his chest. The unwelcome gesture had been almost fatherly.
    AD 759—Present day
    Li Tao emerged through the pass with his sentry at his flank. In the shadow of the ridge, the bamboo stalks shot up through the loamy earth to form a corridor. The drift of the green canopy beckoned his return.
    The bamboo sea had cloaked the troops he had amassed and trained over the years. This hidden army could very well be seen as a sign of treason, though the other jiedushi had done the same. They could anticipate the unrest that would follow the fall of a great Emperor. Men like Gao Shiming sought to capitalise on the instability to gain power while Li Tao fought to maintain order, even if he had to defy Changan.
    Cool forest air surrounded him like a long, drawn-out sigh. His thoughts shifted from the tension of the barricades back to his infamous guest. Before he realised it, he was urging his horse into a gallop over the final stretch of road winding up to the mansion.
    A constant restlessness had taken root within him. At night, he would lie on a pile of rugs in the nagging darkness of the barracks and conjure up a swirl of coloured silk beneath his eyelids. In the silent stretch before dawn, he imagined Suyin’s voice and the elusive scent of her perfume. All trace of her would disappear by the time the troops assembled in the morning and he would issue his commands without any thought to her. Then night would come again.
    He needed to be rid of her. The temptation was too great.
    He needed to keep her close. The temptation was too great.
    At the house, he dismounted and strode through the side entrance. The stillness of the interior pricked his awareness, the absence of footsteps or the murmur of voices. No one came to greet him in the front hall. Even on the slowest of days, he expected a measure of activity in the late afternoon as the servants completed their chores.
    The minute jump in his pulse was followed by a chilling calm. He slipped the blade from beneath his sleeve and stepped soundlessly through the main salon, his weight shifting on to the balls of his feet. He searched the corners and scanned each dim corridor. At the portico, the lilt of a familiar voice floated to him.
    ‘Was that the sound of riders?’
    With a deep breath, he slid the weapon back into its sheath and adjusted his sleeve with a sharp tug before moving out into the open air. The doors of the sitting room had been propped open to provide a view into the gardens. The last of the tension drained from him when he saw the layers of yellow silk wrapped in pink. Suyin glowed like a vibrant flame among the sombre guardsmen who lined along the walkway.
    ‘Governor Li.’ A sewing needle gleamed between her first and second fingers.
    He had to be mistaken about the brightness in her tone. ‘Where is Jinmei?’ he asked.
    ‘Auntie has gone to Rongzhou for the spring festival. Everyone went with her except for the gardener, who is too blind to see the lanterns, and Cook because this worthless woman cannot even boil rice to feed herself.’
    He started to ask her why she hadn’t gone with them, momentarily forgetting his strict orders to keep her in the house and guarded at all times.
    He stepped through the garden doors to come up beside her. A swathe of dark cloth hung from her hands.
    ‘What are you